Anthony Bourdain Leaves Travel Channel to Join CNN

May 30, 2012 (4:55 am) GMT

The award-winning chef, who is starring on 'No Reservations' and 'The Layover', will host a new food and travel show that will air Sundays during primetime on CNN.

Anthony Bourdain is moving from Travel Channel to CNN. The latter network has announced that the world-renowned chef will join them to host a new weekend program, and to provide commentary on other CNN programs and platforms.

Set to launch in 2013, the upcoming food and travel show "will be shot on location and examine cultures from around the world through their food and dining and travel rituals." It will air Sundays in primetime with repeat airings on Saturday nights.

"I'm really looking forward to coming over to CNN," says 55-year-old Bourdain, who was nominated for a Creative Arts Emmy for non-fiction writing in 2010. "I think the world is going to get a whole lot bigger for me. I hope that old fans and new ones will be excited about what's coming down the road."

Travel Channel, which currently airs Bourdain's shows "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" and "The Layover", responds to CNN's announcement by releasing its own statement. "We are proud of the great storytelling Tony has brought to the Network. We congratulate him on his new venture and look forward to working with him on new projects in the future," so the network says via a spokesperson.

"Anthony Bourdain has been an iconic figure at Travel Channel for eight groundbreaking seasons of the Emmy award-winning 'No Reservations' and he just finished shooting the latest season of 'No Reservations'," the spokesperson adds. "Additionally, we just began filming with Tony for season two of 'The Layover'. Original episodes of both series will run through 2013 and Bourdain programs will always have a home on Travel Channel."